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United States
The United States of America, commonly referred to as the United States (US) or America, is a federal republic of 51 states and one federal district. The US shares land borders with Mexico and Canada, while also maintaining close maritime borders with Cuba and several other states. History Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century The United States remained neutral at the outbreak of World War I in 1914, though by 1917, it joined the Allies, helping to turn the tide against the Central Powers. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson took a leading diplomatic role at the Paris Peace Conference and advocated strongly for the U.S. to join the League of Nations. However, the Senate refused to approve this, and did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles that established the League of Nations. The United States was at first effectively neutral during World War II's early stages but began supplying material to the Allies in March 1941 through the Lend-Lease program. On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, prompting the United States to join the Allies against the Axis powers. During the war,the United States was referred as one of the "Four Policemen" of Allies power who met to plan the post-war world, along with Britain, the Soviet Union and China. Allied conferences at Bretton Woods and Yalta outlined a new system of international organizations that placed the United States and Soviet Union at the center of world affairs. As an Allied victory was won in Europe, a 1945 international conference held in San Francisco produced the United Nations Charter, which became active after the war. The United States developed the first nuclear weapons and used them on Japan; the Japanese surrendered on September 2, ending World War II. After World War II the United States and the Soviet Union jockeyed for power during what is known as the Cold War, driven by an ideological divide between capitalism and communism. They dominated the military affairs of Europe, with the U.S. and its NATO allies on one side and the USSR and its Warsaw Pact allies on the other. The U.S. developed a policy of "containment" toward Soviet bloc expansion. While they engaged in proxy wars and developed powerful nuclear arsenals, the two countries avoided direct military conflict. The U.S. often opposed Third World left-wing movements that it viewed as Soviet-sponsored. American troops fought communist Chinese and North Korean forces in the Korean War of 1950–53. A proxy war was expanded in South East Asia with the Vietnam War. The 1970s and early 1980s saw the onset of stagflation. After his election in 1980, President Ronald Reagan responded to economic stagnation with free-market oriented reforms. Following the collapse of détente, he abandoned "containment" and initiated the more aggressive "rollback" strategy towards the USSR. The late 1980s brought a "thaw" in relations with the USSR, and its collapse in 1991 finally ended the Cold War. On September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda terrorists struck the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., killing nearly 3,000 people. In response the United States launched the War on Terror, which included the War in Afghanistan and the 2003–11 Iraq War. The Great Middle Eastern War See Full Articles: War against ISIS, War in Afghanistan, War in Pakistan & Saudi Civil War During 2013, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria began taking over portions of eastern Syria. In 2014, the Islamic State terror group began seizing control of vast swaths of northern Iraq, capturing Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city. In August 2014, they turned their operations northward attacking the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq and expanding their operations in Syria, still gripped in the Syrian Civil War. By 2015, their influence had spread to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Palestine, Yemen and Nigeria. The international community responded by launching a series of interventions. Iran supports the ground forces of Iraq and the Syrian government. Nigeria and its neighbors fought against Boko Haram. Egypt and Morocco launched airstrikes in Libyan territory – and later an Egyptian-Tunisian invasion of Libya with NATO support. The Iranian backed Shia Houthis in Yemen fought against AQAP which had pledged allegiance to IS. The US and its many allies launched a series of airstrikes in Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government, which later expanded into striking Syrian territory. In 2015, the Islamic State overran more of Syria. When President Bashar al-Assad was discovered dead, the Syrian government collapsed and IS forces took advantage of the power vacuum in Syria, and splintered both government and rebel force. Al-Nusra joined with IS to take control of Syria, while the Syrian government and opposition forces united to defend their home country. IS captured Aleppo in February 2016 and Damascus by June. In June 2016, Iran and Iraq finally launched of offensive that would expel IS forces from Iraq. Iraqi, Iranian and Kurdish troops finally defeated IS in Iraq in August 2016. In July 2016, Turkey launched their offensive into Syria with NATO aerial coverage. In August, US troops invaded Syria with the support of Jordan and Israel. Damascus was captured from IS forces by the end of September, ending the war in Syria, and leading to the foundation of the Syrian Federal Republic. While the War against ISIS raged, unrest spread to Saudi Arabia, thought to be one of the more stable countries in the Middle East In August 2016, the death of the King of Saudi Arabia and the subsequent succession crisis led to the beginning of the Saudi Civil War. While the US never publically admitted it, US troops assisted Saudi royalist forces in securing control of oil fields and engaged in battles against Saudi rebel forces who quelled the rebellion by May 5th, 2017. The US faced a greater threat in the union of the Islamic Republics of Iran and Iraq into the United Islamic Republic. In 2017, the Taliban and IS forces across Afghanistan and Pakistan launched a renewed offensive, which the governments of both countries were unable to fight. Afghanistan requested annexation to the UIR. Fearing the potential repercussions of the Taliban gaining control of Pakistani nuclear weapons, the US launched an aerial invasion of Pakistan in Operation Icarus. The damage to Pakistan from the invasion led to the country’s collapse and ascension to the UIR. Korean Crisis See Full Article: Korean Crisis In January 2019, the leaders of the Shanghai Pact met in Astrakhan, Russia to discuss strategies to extend their strategic reach. They eventually decided to try and break South Korea off from American influence by moving towards a unified Korea. At the subsequent Shanghai Conference in February, South Korea agreed to invest in the North and the Shanghai Pact leaders agreed to assist in forming a Korean Confederation. The South Korean Ambassador to China notified President Xi Jinping that Seoul was interested in ascending to the Shanghai Pact in order dissuade a Northern attack. The US was opposed to such a move, fearing the loss the strategically important South Korea. In August, Russian President Vladimir Putin began plotting to spark a war between the USA and North Korea by pushing Pyongyang into launching a limited nuclear attack against the continental United States. This plot was uncovered by both South Korean and Chinese intelligence services who plotted to quickly assassinate Kim Jong-un. On 4 September, North Korean intelligence assets in cooperation with Seoul and Beijing poisoned Kim Jong-un, while making the death appear to be a heart attack. US President Hillary Clinton threatened harsh sanctions against a newly unified Korea and tensions escalated as a deadline for US troops to withdraw from Korea drew closer. On 29 November, the last American troops withdrew from Korea across the East China Sea to Japan. Angola Crisis See Full Article: Angola Crisis On 28 July 2020, the President of Angola was assassinated by an anti-China protester leading to a power vacuum which both the Vice President and the military tried to fill. Fearing a civil war might spark in Angola and threaten PetroChina assets in Angola the People’s Liberation Army Navy prepared to deploy a fleet to Angola to intervene. US President Elizabeth Warren pledged support to the pro-Western military to remove Angola from China’s control. Tensions escalated between Beijing and Washington until eventually the Angolan military put General Geraldo Nunda in charge of the country, establishing a quasi-military dictatorship. The US claimed a victory over the Shanghai Pact. The Second American Revolution See Full Article: Second American Revolution The impact of the global Great Recession, frustration with the current political culture and the ascension of a new generation into positions of leadership led to a series of neo-progressive reforms in the United States that began in 2019 and continued throughout the 2020s. These reforms addressed income inequality and vastly improved education, health care and infrastructure while encouraging investment in cultural institutions as well as research and development. The Second American Revolution is the name of the movement that brought widespread reform. Loss of Global Superiority By the mid to late 2020s, the United States had lost significant influence on the world stage to China, Russia, the UIR and India but had also reformed itself into a more progressive nation with a smaller income gap, better laws, greater political accountability and vastly improved infrastructure. The USA was also a major force in fast emerging fields such as robotics, cybernetics, bio-engineering, renewables and AI. The United States positioned itself to develop a post-fossil fuel economy by 2050 as it tried to find its place in a new multipolar world. Government and Politics The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation. It is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law". The federal government is composed of three branches: * Legislative: The bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government * Executive: The President is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law (subject to Congressional override), and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies * Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the President with Senate approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional. States and Territories The United States has 48 contiguous states and a federal district – the District of Columbia which contains the capital city Washington D.C. – and three non-contiguous states: * Alaska * Hawaii * Puerto Rico The US also has many overseas territories including: * Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands * Midway Reef * American Samoa * US Virgin Islands Foreign Relations The United States has an established structure of foreign relations. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and New York City is home to the United Nations Headquarters. It is a member of the G-7, G-30, and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The United States has a "special relationship" with the United Kingdom and strong ties with Canada, Australia, the Philippines, Japan, Israel, and several European Union countries, including France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. It works closely with fellow NATO members on military and security issues and with its neighbors through the Organization of American States and free trade agreements such as the trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. The US also has close military ties to Jordan, Syria and the African Treaty Cooperation. Military The United States Armed Forces is the official armed forces of the United States and includes the United States Army, the United States Navy, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps. Despite budget cuts, the USA still had 1.2 million active troops in 2030 and 1 million reserves. Only China had military budget comparible to the United States in 2030. The United States is an established nuclear power with the full triad of delivery systems including bombers, ICBMs and ballistic missile submarines. The USA and Russia possessed the majority of the world's nuclear weapons between them. The United States helped pioneer the development of laser weapons, railguns and ultra high caliber magazines in the first half of the 21st century. By 2030, military analysts predicted these new weapons could completely replace traditional bullets and artillery shells by the mid to late 21st century. The US Armed Forces was the first military to use drones in the early 21st century, a move copied by almost every other major military on Earth. The United States deployed the world's first android soldiers in 2025, a move quickly copied by Russia and China. Many military analysts predicted that the United States and other major powers would have fully robotic militaries by the mid to late 21st century. Economy Although hard hit by the Great Recession and general economic mismanagement, the United States recovered and remained a diverse and robust economy. By 2030, the United States was the second largest economy on Earth after the much more populous China. Fracking helped the American economic recovery in the 2010s and 2020s. The U.S. became a net exporter of oil and natural gas supplying the European Union, Japan, China and India with liquified natural gas by the 2020s. The American trucking industry made increasing use of natural gas as fuel while charging stations for hybrid and electric cars used natural gas to produce electricity after 2018. Major Neo-Progressive Reforms in the 2020s increased minimum wage and vomiting the United States to a higher standard of living for its people. It also committed the U.S. to infrastructure improvements and research and development across a wide array of fields that not only advanced the frontiers of human knowledge but also encouraged economic growth and job creation. The United States continued to be a major for in the IT industry with tech giants Apple Inc, Google, Microsoft and Intel leading many important innovations in the electronics and computer industries. This included the adaption of nano-electronic components that allowed chip makers to overcome the physical limitations of silicon in 2022 as well as enabling a slew of other innovations in electronics. The United States adapted smart advertising and electronic paper around the time while universal operating systems become common for internet connected gadgets and smart devices. The U.S. helped pioneer the widespread adoption of the next stage in the evolution of the Internet in the 2020s, providing a boost to the U.S. economy. The United States also helped pioneer the early adaption of self driving cars and the growth of the bio-printing industry in the 2020s, improving people's lives. The U.S. was also a major force in the fields of robotics, cybernetics and AI, helping to revitalize the U.S. economy and increase the efficiency of industry. Smart Homes and Smart Grids increased energy efficiency saving the American government and the American people the equivalent of hundreds of billions of dollars. Entrepeneur and innovator Elon Musk helped insure that the United States remained a force in the renewables industry through the contributions of his company SolarCity and other solar companies to increasing solar power generation in the United States during the 2020s and 2030s. Other companies did the same thing for Wind Power. Although lagging behind Asia, Europe and Australia in terms of high speed rail, the United States completed the California High Speed Rail System in 2029, shortening the trip between Los Angeles and San Francisco to three hours. By 2030, the United States had plans for other regional HSR networks and a continent wide HSR network by 2050. Along with other major industrial economies, the United States hope to graduall reduce the use of fossil fuels and fully transition to a post-fossil fuel economy by 2050 or 2060. Space Program NASA is the official space agency of the United States although the U.S. private space sector grew in the first half of the 21st century. Space-X was the most successful private space firm which conducted rocket launches for the United States and India. The United States was the second nation to launch a person into space in 1959 and the First Nation to land a person on the moon in 1969. American astronauts returned to the moon in 2031 shortly after their Chinese and Russian counterparts. NASA had plans to send people to Mars and establish a Martian colony during the 21st century. Category:Nations Category:List of Nations Category:North America Category:NATO Category:OAS Category:OECD Category:G-30 Category:APEC